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Earlier this year, after nearly 14 years in the making, NOAA Fisheries partially approved the Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2). In a letter to the New England Fishery Management Council, former Regional Administrator John Bullard outlined what fishery habitat protection in New England will look like for the foreseeable future. As the 2018 groundfish season approaches, we should be celebrating a new era of habitat protection; unfortunately, the OHA2 falls short. … More Info »

A better understanding of the potential enormity of Rafael’s illegal activities – even beyond the groundfish fishery – came to light in NOAA Fisheries’ January 10th civil notice letter, identifying new violations with his scallop fleet. The persistence of his illegal activities, however, remains undetermined. … More Info »

After nearly 14 years since the New England Fishery Management Council first began its work on the Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2, NOAA Fisheries has released a proposed rule for the amendment. If approved, the rule would implement the Council’s habitat protection recommendations. Unfortunately, there is little in the proposed rule to show for the 14-year effort. … More Info »

The New England Fishery Management Council is developing the Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The amendment will comprise measures requiring some fishermen to take precautions in designated areas in order to protect the corals that live in those places. The Council is currently accepting comments on the amendment through June 5, 2017. … More Info »

National Standard 1 is regularly identified as the bedrock of sustainable U.S. fisheries management: prevent overfishing while producing optimum yield from the nation’s fisheries. The latter objective imports the linked statutory requirement that overfished stocks should be rebuilt as quickly as biologically possible. But NOAA Fisheries’ revisions seem determined to shake this foundation. … More Info »

There is no shortage of historic firsts for the Atlantic Ocean. From the European discoveries of New England’s vast cod abundance that launched colonial America’s first industry to Marconi’s first trans-Atlantic wireless transmission to Lindberg’s harrowing trans-Atlantic flight, the Atlantic … More Info »

Last Friday, the Chief Judge of the New Hampshire Federal District Court, Joseph N. Laplante, ruled in Captain David Goethel and Sector 13’s lawsuit opposing industry-funded at-sea monitoring (ASM). Without getting too much into the weeds – and this lawsuit was all weeds – let’s break down the ruling. … More Info »

The New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts Area holds remarkable ecologic value—ancient deep sea coral gardens, abundant and diverse marine mammal populations, as well as sea turtles and sea birds, and an array of rare and unusual marine species. The area is also distinguished by how little fishing actually occurs there. It is truly one of the least fished areas on the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard. That’s why I have to call out erroneous claims that creating a marine national monument in New England’s Coral Canyons and Seamounts would have “devastating economic impacts” on any fishery or port in New England. The facts simply contradict those claims. … More Info »

With NOAA poised to review the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Habitat Amendment – and in the face of some fishermen who claim that marine protected areas within the cold waters off New England show no benefit, and others that claim the new sector quota system eliminates the need for closed areas all together – a timely paper was recently released by two New England-based marine scientists. … More Info »

The criminal arrest and indictment of the region’s largest fisherman, New Bedford’s Carlos Rafael, for multiple charges of fraud, misreporting, tax evasion, and money smuggling should not be used to brush an industry with the tar of his allegedly corrupt practices. But it certainly raises several important issues in my mind. … More Info »